Established Business Relationship (EBR)

An established business relationship is a recent purchase or inquiry that, under the do-not-call rules, can allow a seller to call a person whose number is on the National Do Not Call Registry.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FCC rules both recognize an established business relationship as an exemption to the National Do Not Call Registry. Under the TSR, an EBR exists for:

• 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, rental, lease, or financial transaction with the seller.
• 3 months after the consumer's inquiry or application about the seller's product or service.

The EBR has limits that trip up a lot of teams:

• It belongs to the seller. It does not transfer to affiliates or partners unless the consumer would reasonably expect it.
• It does not override a company-specific stop request. If the person asks you to stop, they go on your internal do-not-call list, EBR or not.
• It does not replace the consent needed for artificial or prerecorded voice telemarketing. Since 2012, FCC rules require prior express written consent for those calls even when an EBR exists. That includes AI voices.

In practice, an EBR mostly helps with live, human-dialed calls to people on the registry. If you use an AI agent for outbound sales, rely on written consent instead. Track the date of each purchase or inquiry so you can tell when an EBR expires.

Sources

• 16 CFR Part 310 (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310 (accessed October 17, 2026)
• 47 CFR 64.1200 (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200 (accessed October 17, 2026)

This entry is general information, not legal advice.